Boxoffice Insider: Grupo Firme Shines In Record-Setting L.A. Run

Grupo Firme’s mark is second only to Adele, who performed eight nights on her 2016 tour, which ranked fifth among the 100 highest-grossing tours that year with $167.7 million. The next highest show count belongs to Eagles, who sold out six Staples concerts in fall 2005. Taylor Swift and Garth Brooks are both on record with five-show engagements at the arena – in Brooks’ case, a series of five shows over two days in January 2008 which benefited fire-relief efforts in response to California wildfires during the previous year. Swift’s five shows came during her “1989” world tour, which brought her overall number of concerts performed at the arena to 16 – the most of any artist.

The Latin pop group also lands among the 10 touring artists with the highest-grossing multi-show Staples Center engagements on a single tour, based on reported data. Grupo Firme racked up a box office haul of $7,024,101 to rank 10th among the arena’s top grossers (excluding family shows and other non-concert events). Adele tops that list too with her $13.8 million eight-show total, while the remaining artists in the top 10 are Barbra Streisand, The Rolling Stones, Eagles, Bruno Mars, Swift, Elton John, Madonna and Drake.

Grupo Firme’s combined attendance for their seven shows at Staples also puts them in the top three among artists with the most tickets sold for a concert engagement. Their ticket count reached 77,437 from the run that kicked off on July 30 and wrapped Aug. 8. 

Adele, once again, reigns with 118,149 sold tickets, while Brooks’ 2008 appearance drew 97,940 fans over two days to follow at No. 2.

Looking at this year’s box office records, the band’s $6.9 million gross surpasses comedian Dave Chappelle, who had set a new 2021 gross record in June when he logged a $5.8 million take at his six-show stint at Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Conn. Along with the gross record, the group’s final ticket count in L.A. also smashes the 2021 attendance record held previously by New Zealand band Six60. That group performed an April stadium event in Auckland for 48,159 attendees.

Led by frontman Eduin Caz, Grupo Firme will remain stateside for much of 2021’s remainder, with shows booked in arenas as well as fairgrounds and other outdoor concert sites. Among the upcoming dates are a three-day stand in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, three nights at Toyota Arena in Ontario, Calif., two Chicago performances at Allstate Arena and November shows planned for Madison Square Garden in New York, Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., and Boston’s Agganis Arena.

Speaking of Boston, the live music fans there certainly make an impact on this week’s box office recap, as figures were also reported for Billy Joel’s first live performance since the pandemic shutdown. He played at the city’s historic Fenway Park for the seventh consecutive year (excluding 2020), selling out a performance on Aug. 4. His concert, promoted by Live Nation, grossed $4.8 million from 35,346 sold tickets. That brings his seven-show gross total at the venue to $30.8 million with a total ticket count of 253,078.

Looking at Joel’s box office stats at the ballpark, his 2019 performance on Sept. 14 still holds the record as his most successful show based on sold-ticket income. Grosses for that concert totaled $5.08 million with tickets ranging from $49.50-$159.50, the same as this year’s event. His largest crowd, though, was recorded at his Aug. 18, 2016 concert when 36,771 fans packed the stadium.